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Daily Tax Report: State provides authoritative coverage of state and local tax developments across the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, tracking legislative and regulatory updates,...
By Chris Marr
A Georgia bill that would allow Bitcoin to be used in paying state taxes is likely dead for the current legislative session, as Feb. 28 marks a technical deadline for bills to advance.
S.B. 464 was filed late in the session Feb. 21, a week before the Georgia Legislature’s “crossover day.” Under Senate rules, bills that don’t advance beyond their chamber of origin by crossover day—the 28th meeting day of the 40-day annual session—can’t be heard in the second chamber.
S.B. 464 hasn’t received a committee hearing and isn’t on the Senate’s calendar for Feb. 28, although there’s always the possibility of a proposal being amended onto another bill to keep it alive.
Georgia is one of two states where lawmakers proposed a bill this year authorizing cryptocurrencies for use in paying taxes. A similar Arizona bill passed the state Senate and is awaiting a vote in the House. At least 19 states have introduced digital and virtual currency legislation this year that ranges from tax policy to creating task forces, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The Georgia bill would require the state Department of Revenue to accept “any cryptocurrency, including but not limited to Bitcoin, that uses an electronic peer-to-peer system” as payment for taxes and license fees. The department would then have to convert the payment to U.S. dollars within 24 hours and credit the taxpayer with the converted dollar amount, according to the bill text.
Besides the hurdle of being introduced late in the session, S.B. 464 also is sponsored by Sen. Michael Williams (R), a 2018 candidate for governor who’s running against Lt. Gov. and Senate President Casey Cagle (R). Williams has publicly criticized Cagle’s leadership from the well of the Senate, earning him public rebukes from other Republican senators.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Marr in Atlanta at cmarr@bloomberglaw.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ryan C. Tuck at rtuck@bloombergtax.com
Text of Georgia S.B. 464 is at http://src.bna.com/wHN.
Copyright © 2018 Tax Management Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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